i mean, even three years ago barack obama expressed concern about the long term debt and the confidence of people in the u.s. government. take a listen. >> there may be some tax provisions that can encourage businesses to hire sooner rather than sitting on the sidelines. so we're taking a look at those. i think it is important, though, to recognize that if we keep on adding to the debt, even in the midst of this recovery, that at some point, people could lose confidence in the us economy in a way that could actually lead to a double-dip recession. >> i remember that well. and at the time it was going on, i do occasionally find myself in meetings with very serious people myself. i guess i am personally one now and then. there was this widespread view among people, and not all of it venal, not all of it self-interested, that somehow things were hanging by a thread. that any day now we could have a run on u.s. government debt, which was wrong. but, okay, i can see how people could for a while have believed that. but a lot of time has gone by since then. and i hope that at least some people